Quilt Retreat Show-n-Tell

At lunch on Sunday there was a show and tell among the quilters. Lots of gorgeous quilts! Sew many ideas, so little time!!

Three gorgeous scrap quilts by Donna-Lee.

Up close photo of the "Happy Hour" scrap quilt.

The beginning of a "Spiders Web" scrap quilt.

Marj's version of a Gloria Loughman style wallhanging.

Marj's New York Beauty Pattern whe created while owner of The Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw.

Two of Marj's landscape quilts.

Lots of felting and other fibres on this landscape!

Close-up of Sherry's fenceposts on her Tree Landscape quilt.

THAASpring Quilting Retreat

Busy weekend! Quilting, Ladies Night and local social. Whew!!

I took Coreen Zerr's quilting class on Strip Pieced Landscapes. We were required to bring a landscape photo that we wanted to work on. I chose a photo Don took in Arizona of a Saguaro cactus with a Mesa cliff in the background and Prickly Pear cactus in the foreground.

We began by strip piecing the sky using fabric in exact (or close to) colour hues. This took a lot of time but was fun. It was exciting to see the various skies developing.

The next day we began to add other pieces of the landscape. I added the ground and began work on the cacti.

Coreen having us look at Bev's sunset strip piecing.

Coreen doing a thread-play demonstration.

Bev showing her finished sunset sky strip piecing and 'corral' boarder.  

Now she needs to add her trees, lamp-posts and other thread-play. 

Adeline adding some paint highlights to her sunset piece.  

Notice her colour photo laying on top of her fabric strip piece.

My Arizona Landscape - beginning with stripped pieced sky and some land features.

Now with some of the plant details pinned on.

Still very much a work in progress!

Close-up of Saguaro cactus.

Ladies Night at Tiffany's

Ladies Night was a tremendous success! The 'Tiffany's theme was a real hit. Almost all attendees wore black and pearls. Some even went Audrey Hepburn casual - head scarf, long shirt and leggings. Totally classic!

A group of us spent the day decorating. The Tiffany's theme was carried out through here as well. Even the ladies rest room was decked out!

Kudos to the THAA!!

Cut table setting for the meal.

Notice the bow tie folded napkins!!

Annette setting up the silent auction.

Beth adding bling to the photos on the tables.

Is Shirley running off with some of the bling?  

Brendan putting on the finishing touches.

Even the bathroom got a facelift!!  Thanks Deb and Karen!

Visit Leah

Finally got in to Winnipeg to visit with Leah. She has a new couch and TV stand as congratulations on graduating from University gift from Grandma and Grandpa R.

Monkey is still playful. He is getting spring fever; just like the rest of us!

Trying out the new IKEA couch.  Comfy!!

Monkey has spring fever.

Wants to go for a bike ride on Leah's new from Craig's List, bike.

Finished Triptych

Yahoo! A huge project completed. It feels like a great accomplishment!

This art piece, commissioned by Donna and Craig, is entered in the Central Region Juried Art Show. It will be hanging in Portage May 2. Come see it in its entirety.

Here is the hunchback hard at work.  

Apparently you have to hold your mouth just right to get the sewing machine to work.

(Didn't even know I did that!!)

Using the micro-handles for better control of fine thread-work.

Close-up detail of luminescent thread on water.

Gosh that thread was hard to work with!!

Here is the monitor for the sewing machine.

No the machine does not do the stitching patterns on its own!

It is totally hand created and controlled.

Finishing up

Don and I are keeping busy finishing up things around the house so that we can head back to Manitoba. I have been running to stores to buy pots and pans, utensils, bedding, towels, etc. while Don continues to repair the irrigation. We are both tired of visiting WalMart and Home Depot!!

A break in the routine took us back to Countertop Creations to view the placement of our countertops on the slabs. Rich helped us rearrange the various templates to get the best sections of the slab on the countertops. It has been exciting to be so involved, right from choosing the slabs at Arizona Tile to creating the templates and now to placement. Wow!

For our 'last supper' we went to Bogies at LaSendas with Penny and Larry. On the drive there we saw lots of flowering cactus. The desert is coming to life. One area had tall yellow spikes of blooming agave. Spectacular. Also, purple prickly pear cactus and ocotillo are interesting to see.

The restaurant at LaSendas overlooks the valley so we had a magnificent sunset view and then later on could see the lights of Phoenix. A great way to end our nights out on the town!

Template for island countertop is placed on slab for best use of granite features.

Rich works with us to decide which parts of the granite to us for the various counter-tops.

Wow!!  Beautiful yucca plants in full bloom.

Prickly Pear cactus in bloom.

Ocotillo in bloom.  Looks like sticks with fire on top, like matches burning.

Don and I at sunset with lights of Mesa in the background.

Sun just going down.  Saguaro cacti are silhouetted.  

Irrigation

Don has spent many hours outside in our yard trying to decipher the irrigation system. There seems to be original white PVC piping and then (possibly installed later) black tubing. It seems no one has maintained the irrigation for a few years.

Through a lot of effort Don has been able to locate the pipes, figure out the irrigation controller, fix leaks, and install irrigation drip lines to the existing plants. Wow! He really is a jack of all trades!!

In front of the house, Don wearing a mask to keep dirt spores from entering his lungs.

Notice the young Sago Palm in front that he is adding irrigation for.  Very sharp leaves!

Irrigation system controls.

Oops.  Finding more irrigation breaks/leaks as he goes!!

Appliance and Furniture Deliveries

Early Saturday morning the appliances arrived. The delivery men sure have delivery and set up down to a fine science. They were able to uncrate, unload, and install the fridge and stove in only a few minutes.

Don decided to hook up the above range microwave and the dishwasher himself. After many hours of him installing I think he wished he had paid for the service instead!! In the end all four appliances were in place and working.

Yes, we bought stainless steel appliances. I sure hope I don't regret it. I spent about an hour doing the initial cleaning and polishing. Yikes!! It sure is nice having water and ice dispensers on the fridge. One needs to keep hydrated in the warm dry climate!

Finally, six hours later than booked, the furniture arrived. The delivery men brought in and set up the sectional couch, dining room table and chairs, master bed and night tables, and guest bed with one night table. Everything looks great! Phew! I was worried - buyers anxiety! And Don likes everything too! Bonus!

OMG. What a Day!

Phew! What a busy day!

Began the day by dropping Shayne and Don off at Superstition Springs Golf Course. Then I went to the house to clean and set up as much as I could. Unpacked and washed dishes, glasses and cutlery. Found a broken cereal bowl in one if the sets of dishes and all the knives in the cutlery were marred. So back to the stores to return items.

On my return from 'returning' I saw and introduced myself to our neighbor on the west. Marlene seems like a very friendly person, I think we will get along very well. She is a secretary at a preschool in the area. She is the original owner of her home of 20 years, and lives there on her own as her kids are grown and her husband is dead.

The guys dropped Don off after the golf game. He changed locks on the doors while I washed baseboards of dust and grime.

A worker from the countertop company came to measure out our countertops. He created a template for the island top as it is rather a unique shape. Don has designed a great top idea to compliment our island area. The countertop guy was late because a guy on a motorcycle rear ended him at a red light. He had to help the 70 year old motorcycler who wasn't moving. Rather freaky experience!

Later the plumber arrived. We tried to diagnose the irrigation system. Seems that there are two systems buried underground, neither of which are functioning well, both have breaks, etc. Darn. More work needed. Sigh!

Time slipped by so quickly that we were late for our appointment with the LaZBoy designer and sales person. We ended up spending over 2 hours discussing ideas with them. They gave us wonderful colour selections for den furniture that we love. Now we have to decide what pieces to buy.

Phew. What a day. Tomorrow doesn't look any better. All the appliances, bedroom and kitchen furniture arrives! Yikes! Better get to bed!

The worker from Countertop Creations is measuring out the island countertop template.

Close up of the template.

At LaZBoy with designer, Sonja, and salesperson, April.

Closeup of fabric and rug swatches, floor plan and pictures of furniture.

A novelty table just for Don!